DL6: The Beginning of the End
by Charlett
Summary: An earthquake hits. An entire courtroom rumbles. The lights go out. An elevator fails to operate. Three people are trapped within. Five hours pass... One person does not make it out. This incident is known as DL6.


Nyaaaaan... I really was not sure what I was doing when I started writing this. I'm not used to writing emo characters. I tend not to like them as opposed to other characters (Sasuke, anyone?). however, for reasons unbeknowingst to me, I fell in love with Edgeworth and his emoness, and then his lack of it later on. So, to honor the hardships he went through and eventually recovered from, I kinda just, spur of the moment decided to write a short log of the DL-6 incident, which means that Case 4 will be spoiled, but not terribly. I hope you guys enjoy it, and please, point out anything I screwed up on. I really didn't pull up a beta in this time, as it was so short, I figured I didn't need to wait around for one. And now:

READ ON!

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DL-6: The Beginning of the End

An hour had passed since the earthquake. An hour had passed, and Miles Edgeworth continued to shudder in the corner of the darkened elevator. He could only remember that horrible earthquake, so strong that it threatened the snap the cables that held the elevator in place. The lights had gone out. There was nothing to see, "Dad…" Miles cried, "Dad, I'm scared."

"It's okay, Miles," Gregory Edgeworth, Miles' father, replied from across the elevator. Miles could only make out his father's voice. He couldn't even see his own father's smile, "We'll be fine."

"FINE?" Came a shrill cry from another location in the elevator, "It's been an hour! What are we supposed to do?" That was Yanni Yogi, the bailiff. The three of them had entered the elevator when that earthquake sealed them in. Now, without a way to get out of the elevator, the three of them were slowly losing oxygen. Miles heard about this in school, he WAS in fourth grade, after all. If a person was trapped in a completely sealed place, eventually they'd run out of oxygen to breathe, and they'd die… He didn't want to think about that, so he hugged his knees and tried not to listen to the bailiff's cries, "We're going to die in here! We're going to…"

"Maybe if you keep hyperventilating like that," Gregory replied to Yanni's voice, "but you shouldn't. We should all take normal, calm breaths, and someone will come and save us before we know it. Got it, Miles?"

The boy nodded, but since his father couldn't see him, he spoke up, "Yes, Dad." Although, deep down, Miles wondered if that bailiff was right…

---

Three hours since the earthquake. Three hours with nothing to do. Miles sometimes could feel himself breathing faster than he should. The air was beginning to thin… He needed to do something, ANYTHING, to keep himself from crying deep, hyperventilating sobs, "Dad," He said. There was a soft murmur of acknowledgement, and Miles continued, "Do you remember when you were doing the trial? You were so good!" He smiled, "You defended that man so well… And you made that dumb prosecutor von Karma wish he never tangled with you!"

"I…" Gregory sighed. Still… the defendant was found guilty… a man that was most likely innocent. Gregory believed in that man's innocence, and now the defendant was facing life in prison. If only he could have fought harder. Still, Miles seemed really happy about what happened, and so he tried to smile for his son, "Yes… indeed. Did you see his face when the judge penalized him?"

"You did it, Dad!" Miles exclaimed, nearly forgetting about the predicament they were in. Being able to talk to his dad like this made him feel so much better, "You dealt a blow to that snob's 25-year perfect record! Dad, you're the greatest. When I grow up, I'm going to be JUST like you. I keep telling Phoenix and Larry that everyday at school."

"Quiet! Quiet!" The paranoid Yanni shouted in a hushed voice, "Stop it! Stop talking! That takes too much air! Too much!"

Miles quieted down with an apologetic whimper, and Gregory made to stand up to Yanni, but decided against it for now. After all, he was right. They needed to save air. He simply stretched out with a sigh and settled down. He'd give them another hour. Just one more hour, and they'd be saved…

---

Two hours later, five hours had passed since that earthquake. Miles was taking in deep gulps of air just to get enough air to not pass out. His eyes stung with tears, because his lungs were burning. They shouted at him, begging for air, and he wanted to longingly to get air, but what could they do? That bailiff and his father already tried to pry the elevator door open when they were first stuck (he even tried helping a bit), but they couldn't get it open. They were beginning to die, he could feel it. He felt so terrible; no more reading law books he didn't understand. No more telling Phoenix about his great dream. No more laughing whenever someone at school said "If something smells, it's usually the Butz". This was it… they were all going to die…

"You little RAT!" Miles gave a cry when he heard Yanni yelling at him, "Stop it! STOP IT!"

"Yogi, what are you doing to my son?" Gregory shouted when Miles gave an instinctive cry of distress.

"Your little RAT of a son is breathing MY air!" The bailiff screamed, "MY air! STOP BREATHING IT!"

"DAD!" Miles cried, crawling away from the bailiff as he groped for the boy, attempting to grab him to stop him from breathing, "Dad, help me!"

"Leave Miles alone!" Miles heard his father stand, and there was shouting from the two. They stood in the middle of the elevator and yelled at each other, "Yogi! You have to stop! If you continue this, we'll REALLY run out of air!"

"Then I'll stop you TOO!" Yanni shouted, physically shoving Gregory to the floor, "It's MY air you're breathing! Stop breathing MY AIR!"

"DAD!" Miles screamed as he heard the defense attorney fall into a corner with a grunt. Something hard and heavy fell to the boy's feet, and he reached out to grab it. His eyes widened… it was shaped like a gun… He had heard from his father that guns did terrible things. They could hurt people… In fact, the trial today was about a woman who was shot in the head five times… He was afraid of the weapon, and refused to touch it. It was then that he heard Yanni's footsteps, walking ever so slowly and lopsidedly towards his father, "I'll make you stop…" The bailiff said, "I'll make you stop breathing my air…"

Miles gave a cry. Yanni was going to kill him! The bailiff was going to kill his father! "STOP!" He screamed, picking up the gun. He couldn't breathe… the air was gone; he could feel himself losing consciousness. He couldn't give up though. He HAD to stop them! "Leave Dad alone!" He threw the gun in an attempt to make Yanni step back in surprise, and Miles fell to the floor, losing consciousness. The last thing he heard was the gun dropping to the floor, the weapon going off, and a scream; a roar so terrible that the boy sobbed even while unconscious of his own actions…

---

"STOP!" Miles screamed, picking up the gun. He couldn't breathe… the air was gone; he could feel himself losing consciousness. He couldn't give up though, he HAD to stop them! "Leave Dad alone!" He threw the gun in an attempt to make Yanni step back in surprise, and Miles fell to the floor, losing consciousness. The last thing he heard was the gun dropping to the floor, the weapon going off, and a scream; a roar so terrible that it wrenched Miles from the nightmare he was having, "DAAAAAD!"

The young boy snapped awake, clutching the white sheets that were covering him with hands that were dragged into balls. He looked around with a start. He… he was in an infirmary… he was… safe… "Dad!" He looked around, hoping to find his father sitting next to him, and his face fell, no, it looked positively spooked to find someone else staring him down! It was Manfred von Karma, that mean prosecuting attorney!

"You're finally awake," von Karma growled gutturally, "Took you long enough…"

"Why are you here?" Miles demanded of the man; that mean man who was so mean to his father, the one who said he was perfect… "Where's Dad?" He asked, looking around, "Dad!"

There was a snort that came from the prosecuting attorney, "You mean Gregory Edgeworth, your foolish father…?"

"He's not foolish, you jerk!" Miles shouted in retort, "He's the best Dad ever and he's much cooler than you anyway!"

"He's dead."

…There was silence for a moment. Miles stared at Von Karma. He would have blown off the man's statement, but every time he thought about that scream… that scream when the gun he threw went off… So that was what happened… He… he… von Karma refused to look at the boy as he buried his face in his knees and screamed.

"There's no evidence," von Karma said as Miles continued to scream into his knees, sobbing heavily, "No one knows who could have killed your father. He was shot through the heart… it couldn't have been suicide…"

"Dad… DAD!" Miles threw a tantrum so loud that many of the nurses of the infirmary were coming to calm him down. The attorney did nothing to console the child, and attempted to give the impression that he didn't know the young Edgeworth boy, "Dad, why? Why did you leave me? Why did you leave me all alone?" The boy sobbed, "Daddy!

"The police… were asking…" von Karma murmured, barely audible over the screaming of the young child. The nurses glared at the man as he continued, seemingly oblivious to Miles' sadness, "They wondered if perhaps… you… knew anything about what happened to your father."

The child stopped, even as one of the nurses berated the prosecutor, "von Karma! How could you? He's only a child! He mustn't have to recall such things! You're terrible!"

"I SAID…" von Karma growled, looking quite annoyed at the nurses who were coddling Miles and trying to calm him down. He was balling his hands into fists, grabbing a chunk of the sleeve while he was at it, "Do you know anything about what happened with your father, Boy?"

Miles continued to let the nurses hug him and whisper words of solace into his ears, even as he tried to think back to that time when he was in the elevator. Nothing… he couldn't remember anything…

Yet then… he could remember… There was a scream… his nightmare… throwing the gun, it went off… then… that horrible, horrible scream. It was obvious… _Could… could it have been me?_ He whispered to himself. The only sound now was the tick tocking of the clock above him, and he shuddered. _No, _he told himself, _It wasn't me… It couldn't be… I couldn't have killed an adult… I'm just a kid… It was just a nightmare… just a nightmare…_ "Well?" The prosecutor asked, snapping the child from his thoughts.

Miles shook his head and hugged his knees close to him, "N… no…" He whispered, his eyes wide and his face pale, "I… can't… remember a thing… Everything… all went dark…"

von Karma didn't reply, but he seemed to have relaxed, as he seemed a little tense when he asked the question in the first place, "I… see…" He murmured, "That… is what Yanni Yogi said as well…"

"What will happen to me now?" Miles cried, "Dad… Why did you go away…?"

There was shifting, and Miles looked up at von Karma, who had just stood from his chair, "You're fine now, Boy," He said, picking up his cane and tossing his over coat over his right shoulder, which seemed like a self conscious action… "They'll be releasing you in a moment, so let's get going."

"G… going…?" Miles asked, his eyes wide, "Why would I go anywhere with YOU?"

"Don't you see, Miles?" One of the nurses asked, clapping her hands together and smiling happily, "von Karma has already signed the adoption papers! You're going home with him! Isn't that exciting?"

Miles' eyes widened, and he turned to the man, "NO!" The boy shouted, slamming his hands on his sheets like a child throwing a tantrum, "I refuse! I won't go with you! You're a monster!"

"My daughter needs a playmate," von Karma replied, "Her sister's a little too old to play with her. You will have everything a young boy needs to grow," The prosecutor turned to the young boy, "And so, with the papers signed, you have no choice in the matter. Come, Boy, we're going home."

Miles' eyes filled with tears. Could it be true? Could this man have the ability to FORCE the child to join the prosecutor and his family? It must have been because of his powerful record… he must have had a secret conversation with a judge who signed the papers without the young Edgeworth's consent. What could he do now…? He was, according to the law… the adoptive son of Manfred von Karma. If he didn't follow the man… he'd simply be a runaway child… He looked at the nurses, as if begging them for another answer, perhaps they would take him home. He'd rather go with anyone, even an orphanage… then von Karma… The nurses seemed to not notice what Miles was silently begging them for, and they motioned for the boy to follow the prosecutor, and he sniffled at their smiles.

After tossing the bed sheets aside, he stood up and approached his adoptive father. He raised his hand up instinctively, as his father would always take his hand when they walked together, but von Karma refused to take his proffered hand. Miles retracted his hand and looked away, back at the nurses who waved goodbye to him, smiling assuredly. The Edgeworth boy lowered his head, and followed the prim man out of the hospital, towards his car, and away from the life he once knew…

**The End**

**---**

I know... I didn't like this ending much either, but if I continued... I'd be going on into silly things like, "Oh, now Edgeworth's living at the von Karma residence what'll happen NOW?" and that's... yeah... I was thinking of maybe doing something along those lines, but really, does anyone else think that'll be fun? Meh... anyway, reviews are appreciated. Remember, if I screwed up somewhere, just tell me nicely. I'll fix it up in a jiffy.

Anyway, aside from that, I hope you guys kinda liked it... I may not have worked HARD hard on it, but I gave it a decent run through and even shined it up with elbow grease. Tell me what you think!


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